Unconditional Happiness

I was waiting to board my flight to Kolkata at Orlando Airport, just three weeks after my husband's passing. My mother was critically ill, and I was traveling to be with her. As I grabbed lunch at the airport, I received a fortune cookie that read, "Any troubles you may have will pass very shortly."

I stared at the slip of paper in disbelief. It felt like a cruel joke. How could anyone think my troubles would simply disappear? How could I ever be happy again after such profound loss? Did they have any idea what I had been through?

Six years have passed since that moment. I still miss my late husband and my mother every single day, but the pain no longer troubles me. I have made peace with my losses and, more importantly, I have found happiness again. I have not "moved on"—a phrase that never quite sat well with me—but I have moved forward, carrying my experiences with me.

Through this journey, I have realized that happiness is not something external; it is within us, waiting to be embraced. We often tie our happiness to acquiring what we desire, feeling joy when we succeed and sorrow when we fall short. In the space between wanting and lacking, emotions like frustration, disappointment, and misery take root. Yet, even when we achieve what we want, how long does that happiness last? The law of diminishing returns applies here—the goalpost keeps shifting, and contentment remains fleeting.

But when we let go of pain and open our hearts and minds to life once more, suffering transforms into strength. We burden ourselves with conditions for happiness, trying to control every aspect of life, when in truth, control is an illusion. How often do we truly get everything we want? The probability is low, and yet, we allow this uncertainty to dictate our happiness.

What if, instead, we accepted life as it is? What if we chose to focus on what is going well rather than dwelling on what is not? When we remove the constraints we place on happiness, when we stop believing that joy must be tied to certain circumstances, we find that happiness is always within reach.

So, if you are going through a time where happiness feels impossible, hold on. Make a list of the people, circumstances, and blessings in your life. You might be surprised by how much good still surrounds you. Sometimes, all it takes is a shift in perspective to see just how blessed you truly are.